How is Autosuggestion a Form of Hypnosis?

Erick: Autosuggestion is one of the core concepts of Napoleon Hill’s book. It’s a way of conditioning, or reprogramming your subconscious mind. The subconscious mind has all the resources to make things happen for you.

If you’re NOT conditioning your subconscious mind, then you’re probably either getting the same old thing, or worse, opening yourself up to negative or self-destructive programming from outside sources like TV.

One thing is to stop watching TV. Certainly DON’T fall asleep watching TV. If there’s anything important going on, you’ll find out. If a zombie apocalypse happens, trust me, you’ll KNOW without having to see it on TV.

Autosuggestion is a Self Hypnosis Technique

Auto-suggestion is an effective way of doing self-hypnosis without a formal induction or listening to a hypnosis audioprogram.

There are many ways to achieve hypnosis. There are many methods to access your natural trance state. Autosuggestion, as outlined by Napoleon Hill, is one very effective way to do this.

It’s very powerful. I’m surprised he discovered this information as far back as he did? Let’s outline how it can be employed in daily life.

Start with a Definite Major Purpose

Number one, you’ve got a written statement of definite purpose, and written goals that are very specific, phrased in the positive, and measurable. The first step that he (Napoleon Hill) indicates is to read them aloud.

There’s something about using your own voice, hearing your own voice that’s hypnotic in itself. Through repetition, you’ll have them memorized before long, and you won’t even need that piece of paper. You’ll get to the point where you can close your eyes, and “read” them aloud.

Engage Your EMOTIONS

Now, this is very important. When you read these things, or when you’re imagining these things, get emotional about it. EMOTION is one of the core concepts.

This is why typical affirmations almost always fail. People speak their affirmations, but they’re not ENGAGING themselves. You have to get emotionally behind it.

Get PHYSICAL with Your Body Language

So how do you do that? Well, use your body language. You’re NOT slumped over in a chair reading your goals. You can get up in the room, and pace, and strut around. I call it going on a rampage. We’ll get to that in a second.

Use All Your SENSES

The next thing is to be very visual and very sensory in your experience. If you’re imagining your goals as if they were already true, you engage all your senses along with your imagination.

This means you SEE the exact amount of money you hope to acquire. You envision yourself performing the services that you’re going to render to the world in reciprocation for you receiving this money. You HEAR in your mind the compliments that your friends are giving you, because you’ve lost weight. If you imagine a new corner office with a window, SMELL the leather on the chairs.

You engage all of your senses, because your subconscious mind LOVES that. It does not think in terms of WORDS (i.e. text). It loves pictures, smells, and all these exciting things. Your subconscious mind is in charge of the SENSES.

Your subconscious mind is in charge of the EMOTIONS, so engage yourself in the language of your subconscious mind. You’re choosing to do this by using your conscious mind to set the intention.

Choose and intend to to deliver these directions in the language of the “person” you’re trying to reach, your subconscious mind.

Utilize the Power of REPETITION

The final aspect of this is you keep on repeating. You keep on going back to the SAME, exact, definite goal over and over and over.

Over time, you’ll get to the point where you become so engaged and obsessed with this idea, you KNOW it’s going to come true. You know it. Now, it’s just a matter of a time lag until it happens, because you already know it in your mind it’s already happening.

How to Tell If Somebody is “ON TRACK”

If you’re talking to a graduate student, for example, they’ll say things like, “I’m getting my master’s degree.” They talk as if it’s ALREADY theirs. They just have to keep showing up to class, and it’s theirs, right?

You don’t hear them say, “Yeah, I’m going to TRY to get my master’s degree.” Good luck with that. If it’s a sure thing in their mind, you can HEAR it. Their words are subconsciously MATCHING their expectations.

Have FAITH, Stay FOCUSED, Expect RESULTS!

You need to keep on directing your subconscious, “This is it. This is exactly what I want. No, it’s NOT different today. This is it AGAIN, and I expect you to deliver.”

FINALLY, your subconscious mind, your faithful servant goes, “Okay!” It starts to look for all the things that are necessary to achieve your definite purpose. Once it gets fixated on the idea, it’s all over it.

That’s when it seems like the universe metaphysically seems to open up. It starts to deliver the right people into your life, and the right circumstances. You connect with necessary people and resources to help you achieve your purpose.

“I See It Everywhere”

Example: You decide to buy a certain type of car, like a Jeep. You’ve never really noticed them before. However, as soon as you make the DEFINITE decision to buy a Jeep, you’ll start noticing them EVERYWHERE on the road.

When you’ve made a definite decision, the subconscious mind is working on the new idea all the time.

Autosuggestion “Rampages” for Big Results

How can we use auto-suggestion? If you have a goal related to losing weight, start by read your goal aloud. Then, go on a rampage. Wrap your mind around the idea while ramping up your emotional engagement.

Speaking out loud, “I’m so excited! I choose to be at 165 pounds, with a 32-inch waist. I’m going to have this DONE by September 1st. My wife is so in love with me, because I’m looking 20 years younger!”

GO OFF with all these crazy, FUN scenarios. The subconscious mind loves that stuff. You’re speaking it’s language. It’s engaging, and it’s fun. It make you HAPPY when you’re emotionally engaged. It ignites your imagination to create these exciting scenarios.

The daily ritual is to inspire your creative imagination with these thoughts for 20 minutes every day. I think Napoleon Hill recommends 30 minutes of daily mind conditioning.

POWER TIP: I recommend splitting up your autosuggestion into TWO practice periods per day. For example, if you choose to do twenty minutes:

10 minutes, first thing in the morning, and

10 minutes, in the evening before bedtime.

Danelle: Erick, did you say Channing Tatum?

Erick: I think he’s considered the “sexiest” male celebrity today? I’m making fun.

Danelle: Okay. All right, I just wanted to make sure that I heard correctly.

AutoSuggestion Celebrity Examples

Erick: Have you ever heard Donald Trump talking about one of HIS projects?

He never says anything negative. He never says he’s “trying” things. He’ll say, “This is going to be the best building ever built.” He’ll go on and on like that. You might hate the guy. You might think he’s got a big head, but guess what? He’s talking exactly the way he needs to talk to achieve the level of greatness he’s going for.

Another guy, when I think about “the rampage,” do you remember boxing promoter, Don King?

Danelle: Of course.

Erick: He used to talk like, “I’m so EXCITED to be here…,” going on and on. He was all over the place, jumping out of his skin.

Do your autosuggestion like that. Loud, engaging, and emotional.

Create scenarios in your head exactly the way you’d like things to play out in the most optimum way. Do this EVERY day.

You can do it aloud for a while, but you don’t have to do it like that for the FULL 20-30 minutes. First, you set the stage, and build up a high level of ENTHUSIASM. Then, you can sit back in a chair, and reflect internally, playing out those scenarios.

Creating While You Sleep

Autosuggestion is great thing to do right before you go to bed. Your subconscious mind tends to mull over whatever happens to be in your head as you fall asleep.

If you fall asleep while watching negative stuff on the news, you’ll be dreaming about a zombie apocalypse all night long.

It’s better mind when the mind is engaged with your perfect life. Your subconscious mind is going to be working on it.

Is It Different for Teens?

Rose: We work a lot with the youth. What are some steps they can take to begin reprogramming their mind? What suggestions can you give them?

Erick: In some respects, we don’t need to treat youth differently than adults. They’re probably smarter than we are, and they learn stuff faster.

The theta brainwave is the HYPNOSIS state, and the delta brainwave is the SLEEP state. They’re two different states of mind.

Playing recorded affirmations in the background while you sleep is going to be of limited value. There may be some value to it, but it’s exponentially more effective to dedicate 15-30 minutes of each waking day towards the practice of active auto-suggestion. That’s how you get MEGA-results.

When the mind’s asleep, it’s doing other things. It’s got other things to take care of, different priorities, and it’s a different state of mind.

Are Your Goals Priority?

People say, “I don’t have TIME to do self-hypnosis or auto-suggestion, but I can play a recording while I’m asleep.”

It’s as if you’re telling the subconscious mind, “I’m too busy. My goals are not that important.” It’s not a priority. It’s like writing your goals down, and then shoving them into the kitchen drawer never to be seen again!

The ritual practice of daily autosuggestion keeps you focused and on purpose. This sends a powerful message to the subconscious mind to take action.

Free Up Time with Virtual Assistants

Danelle: What are some readings you can recommend as life changing for you? How and why?

Erick: A couple business books made a strong impression on me. One of them is, The Four Hour Work Week. It has great points about how to use your time effectively. One idea I pulled from this book was the use of virtual assistants.

EXAMPLE: If I need a database for a direct mail project, why not hire somebody in the Philippines for five bucks an hour to put it together?

If I tried to make the database on my own, it would never get done because it might be a 40-hour job. Who’s got that kind of spare time? Why do that kind of stuff, if I can pay somebody and have it done by the end of this week?

Be an Owner, Not an Employee

Another good one, The E-Myth, explains that “entrepreneurs” fall into the trap of creating shift jobs for themselves.

EXAMPLE: A mechanic buys an auto shop. Instead of working EIGHT hours a day for somebody else, he ends up working 16 hours as the mechanic/OWNER. Where’s the freedom?

The solution? Get involved in a business where you DON’T have the skill set to do the operational tasks. As an entrepreneur, an auto mechanic is better off investing in a beauty shop!

An entrepreneur should spend his time growing, expanding, and building their brand. The owner of the McDonald’s is not in there flipping burgers, right?

The point is to build something that you can eventually SELL. That’s not the business model I follow for myself, because obviously I need to show up for speaking engagements. However, this book is a good one for evaluating future business opportunities.

Learning is Growing

Vaughn: Erick answered all of the questions that I could think of before I could get a chance to ask them. That’s an awesome thing, because I really wanted to know, is it possible for us to hypnotize ourselves?

Danelle: Now, I do have some more brain facts that I’d like to share…

Juggling has been shown to change the brain in as little as seven days. The study indicates that learning new things helps the brain to change very quickly.

Another one, as Erick has touched on several times throughout the show, studies show that brainwaves are more active while dreaming than when you are awake.

And this one is my favorite. London taxi drivers are famous for knowing all the London streets by heart. These drivers have a larger than normal hippocampus, especially the drivers who have been on the job the longest. The study shows that as people memorize more and more information, this part of their brain continues to grow. I thought those were very interesting.

What Motivates People?

Danielle: I have one last question. What truth have you found between your line of work as a hypnotist, and Napoleon Hill’s writings?

Erick: People are mostly motivated by PAIN. When they seek out a hypnotist, it’s usually because they have a problem. Most likely, they’ve already consulted with a doctor, a counselor, a therapist, whatever, and the hypnotist is the last resort.

While hypnosis is great for helping people resolve their problems, people rarely ask about how they could use hypnosis to be more successful? If they do, they’re usually very VAGUE about their goals, as if they haven’t given it much thought.

A master piano player once asked me, “Can hypnosis help me to become a better piano player.” What does “better”mean? How do you MEASURE that?

It would be more DEFINITE and SPECIFIC if he had said something like, “I’ve never been able to complete Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #3. It’s an extremely challenging piece of music. Could hypnosis help me to master this piece for the first time in my life?”

What Do Successful People Have?

It’s the rare person that applies the principles towards a definite chief aim.

Many people discover these principles as a means to resolve an emotionally painful problem. When that singular problem gets more or less resolved, they go back to their lives of silent desperation. Doing the same old thing over and over and over, year after year.

People use these principles to resolve emotional hurdles, but they STOP there. That’s the difference between the top 2%, and the other 98%.

Danelle: As I always say, listeners, let’s get a clue. I am at the end of my questions. Does anyone else have any questions or last minute comments to make?

Power of Decision

Vaughn: Your comments line up a lot with Napoleon Hill’s works on auto-suggestion, and reprogramming your subconscious mind. When I spoke earlier about my situation as a salesman, it was through the need, desire, or necessity, that I had to kind of buckle down, and use my conscious mindto give direction for the subconscious mind to follow. Provide the “itinerary.”

I began to understand that not only in that situation can I unlock certain abilities and capabilities within myself, but in other situations as well. If I would just open my mind up, or try to find a way, or try to be more creative, I’d be able to unlock much more, and grow much more, and use much more of my brain.

Erick: Isn’t it true that just making the definite decision is more than half the battle?

Vaughn: Yeah. True, true.

Make an Autosuggestion Ritual

Danelle: Erick, did you use auto-suggestion on your journey to become a hypnotist?

Erick: I use it all the time. I’ve got a special room for autosuggestion, which I call “the library.” I sit in a chair, and I go on my “rampages.” I always feel great when I’m done. Your energy levels go, “whoop!” Your whole body is revved up, and it’s great.

It has to be experienced. All anyone has to do is just try this out for 30 days. If you don’t notice some good stuff happening in your life, go back and re-read the instructions. Things WILL start happening. The phone starts ringing!

Vaughn: Of course he used the power of auto-suggestion. He went from being a CPA to a Hypnotist. That’s like two different sides of the world.

Danelle: And two different sides of the brain, too.

An Example of Definite Purpose

Erick: Almost thirty years ago, I can remember the exact moment I decided to make it my definite purpose to become a CPA as my first “real” career.

I had already been thinking about getting into one of the “professions.” Either becoming a lawyer, or getting into accounting. I had talked to a few people that were already in those fields.

One day, while sitting at the desk of a boring job that I didn’t enjoy, I made the commitment to myself to become an accountant. Immediately after making that decision, I got on the phone and started calling schools, and booking whatever classes I needed to take in order to sit for the CPA exam.

Because I had a definite purpose, I completed the entire process as fast as it can be humanly done. From that point forward, it was the only thing on my mind.